


Stars

by the_strange_bookworm



Series: A Day In The Life of Mileven [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Camping, F/M, Stargazing, because why not, mileven and some maxin, pure wholesome fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 19:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11743455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_strange_bookworm/pseuds/the_strange_bookworm
Summary: El goes on her first camping trip with the boys and Mike wakes her up in time to see the stars.Meanwhile, Max and Dustin watch their friends from a distance, having a few moments of their own.





	Stars

**Author's Note:**

> HI IT'S THE BOOKWORM BACK FROM THE DEAD! Update: It has been nearly three weeks since the season 2 trailer and I am still freaking out. Was hit with a sudden wave of inspiration and decided to use it to write some fluff to counteract my dark and angsty thoughts from the new content. Anyway, enjoy!

June 1985

 

El was awoken by someone shaking her shoulder. She groaned and turned the other way. "El," Mike's familiar voice whispered in the dark. He shook her again but she didn't budge and let out a little whine of frustration.

El didn't like being woken up early and she had been up early enough the morning before, in her opinion. She had to be up by 5 am to join the boys (and Max) on her first ever camping trip. That plus all the activities they did that day left her exhausted and wanting to sleep.

"El, the clouds are moving," Mike whispered. "We might see the stars tonight after all." El managed to open an eye and face him. All she saw was his vague black outline but she could tell he had a really goofy grin on his face. "I thought you wanted to go stargazing," he said quietly. 

That was true. She was really disappointed when Mike explained to her that they couldn't see the stars because the clouds were blocking them. She thought for a minute then nodded, then realizing that he couldn't see her, said, "Okay."

Mike bounced up and down excitedly then exited the tent, nearly tripping over Max in the process. El stifled a giggle and untangled herself from her bundle of blankets, stepping out of the tent a bit more gracefully. She followed Mike to the edge of the lake they swam in earlier, and sat down with him on the beach. In the moonlight, she could properly see Mike's features and laughed at the sight of his hair messy and tangled.

"Hey not all of us have amazing hair, you know," he teased, trying (unsuccessfully) to smooth down the areas where it stood up oddly. His hair had grown so long that he had to regularly push it out of his eyes. Some days it didn't even look like he bothered to comb it, leaving it a ruffled mess on his head. El reminded herself to tell him to get a haircut soon.

Pulling her eyes away from his hair, she looked up at the sky and frowned. "I don't see anything," she told Mike.

"Just wait for that cloud to move out of the way," he said, pointing to a large dark gray blot covering most of the sky. they sat in silence for a moment, waiting for the cloud to pass. Then suddenly, El gasped.

The tail of the cloud was moving across the sky, leaving behind it a trail of thousands of shimmering stars. To El, it looked as if an invisible hand was scattering all of these tiny lights along the heavens, lending light to the darkened world. Soon the cloud had completely passed and the entire night sky was filled with the twinkling lights. El also realized that the lake reflected the night sky, making it look like they were sitting at the edge of space. 

While El's eyes were glued to the stars, Mike had eyes only for her. He meant it when he said she had amazing hair. Having grown out of the pixie cut, it now reached her chin in delicate light brown waves, with a few tangles here and there. The look of wonder on her face could've out-shined any star you showed him. And he was pretty sure it was just the lighting, but her very skin seemed to glow with starlight, making her seem like a star herself. And she was to him. She was his very own star.

El caught Mike staring and and he looked away bashfully, his face turning red. El simply smiled and scooted closer to him. Mike's heart began to race.  _What is she doing, what is she doing..._

She laid her head on his shoulder and continued looking at the stars. Mike stiffened slightly, then relaxed as she took his left hand in hers. He wrapped the other arm around her and sighed, looking up at the stars as well.

"Mike?" El later murmured.

"Yeah?" Mike whispered back.

"Stars are pretty."

Mike smiled at the pretty (no,  _beautiful_ ) girl beside him. "They sure are," he replied.

\-----

Max watched the unsuspecting young couple from the entrance of her and El's tent. She smiled and shook her head at the two as El rested her head on Mike's shoulder.  _They are just too adorable,_ she thought when Mike wrapped his arm around El.

"Ten bucks says they kiss," a low voice startled her. She jumped and turned to see Dustin sitting by the boys' tent. She sighed with relief and glared at him. 

"What are  _you_ doing awake?" she asked him. 

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," he replied with a smirk. "I'll just say it's not easy sleeping while someone's tripping over you trying to get out of the tent."

Max laughed and nodded. "I agree," she said. "You know, considering you guys were once fugitives, I expected you to be more stealthy." This time they were both laughing and smiled at each other. 

Dustin stood up and sat down beside Max, surprising her for a moment. She inched away from him instinctively, but then decided she was comfortable this way. They sat in silence, fidgeting and glancing at the happy couple on the edge of the lake.

"The stars  _are_ really nice tonight," Max said, trying to relieve the awkward tension.

Dustin nodded and shifted his gaze to the sky. "Yeah, you can see a lot of constellations tonight," he remarked.

Max pursed her lips and cleared her throat. "You know, my dad taught me a lot about constellations when I was younger," she said.

Dustin looked surprised. "Your dad-"

"Not, that one," she whispered sharply, squeezing her eyes shut. She took a deep breath and opened them again. "The first one."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled, looking down at his lap. "Sorry." He stole a glance at her sad, tired face and spoke up again. "Can you tell me about some? Constellations, I mean?"

Max visibly lit up and smiled at him. "I thought you'd never ask," she said. 

They spent the next half hour looking up at the night sky, Max pointing out stars and Dustin trying to pay attention but constantly getting distracted by how her eyes shone in the moonlight. At some point, they found their hands intertwined together, and after a brief pause just sitting there blushing, they decided they didn't mind and continued with their discussion.

Max didn't think she ever felt more at home. Dustin didn't think he ever felt more in love.

**Author's Note:**

> BTW, I was inspired to write this by the instrumental track "Starlights" by Tracey Chattaway. It's really beautiful you might want to check it out. :)


End file.
